1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to seat belt apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved safety odometer apparatus in cooperation with a seat belt arrangement to effect cooperation between a primary odometer and a secondary odometer for indication of seat belt usage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Contemporary usage of seat belt organizations within an automotive environment have a proven history of reducing injury as a result of automotive impact and collision. Unfortunately such usage is not routinely enforceable and accordingly many unnecessary injuries occur due to neglect in usage of seat belts. To encourage seat belt usage, the instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by coupling a secondary or safety odometer organization to a primary odometer organization of an automobile whereupon coupling engagement of a seat belt organization effects actuation of the safety odometer to indicate parallel usage of the safety odometer upon usage by the associated automobile. If desired the organization may be further coupled to an indicator light in the automobile such as in the dashboard to provide visual indication of coupling of the seat belt arrangement and actuation of the associated odometer. Examples of the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,336 to BEST wherein a seat belt member upon engagement actuates a counter recording each time the seat belt arrangement is utilized.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,167 to HIRANO sets forth an organization wherein ignition switch access is typically blocked prior to coupling engagement of an associated seat belt organization.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,884 to UOTA sets forth a seat belt operation detector to indicate seat belt usage upon an individual occupying an associated seat within the automobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,624 to WARTSKI sets forth an organization to process and store various information regarding operation of an associated automobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,123 to MAURER sets forth a plurality of counters and an interface circuit to determine or record a number of events the associated machine is performing.
As such, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a new and improved safety odometer apparatus as set forth by the instant invention which addresses both the problems of ease of use as well as effectiveness in construction and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.